1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a lawnmower. In particular, this invention relates to a lawnmower powered by an electric motor, which avoids the air and noise pollution that would be caused at the lawnmowing site by employing an internal combustion engine. This invention further relates in particular to a lawnmower employing a solar powered electric motor which avoids the use of the inconvenient cord and the utility electricity costs of a conventional electric motor, and also a portion of the pollution caused by the utility electricity generator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A large percentage of domestic lawnmowers available at present are powered by gasoline. While it is very convenient to utilize gasoline as an energy source for powering lawnmowers, such use has become an air pollution problem in many areas. In fact, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, a governmental organization including representatives from both Los Angeles County and California State governments, has been analyzing exactly this problem, among others, in an effort to provide solutions to combat the smog problems in southern California. It has become apparent that, in the near future, lawnmowers must be designed to be less polluting than they are at present. Indeed, the Air Quality Management Plan (March 1989) for the South Coast Air Basin includes a proposal for the electrification of lawnmowers in the future. A second problem with gasoline powered lawnmowers is the excessive noise pollution that they produce.
Electric lawnmowers are available at present, and they do not cause air pollution, nor do they cause excessive noise pollution, at the site where they are used to mow the lawn. However, most electric lawnmowers available at present are very inconvenient in that they require the use of an extension cord which invariably gets in the way of mowing the lawn. In order to solve this problem, rechargeable electric lawnmowers have been disclosed in the prior art, an example being U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,244. However, problems remain with electric lawnmowers whose batteries are recharged with standard AC current. Namely, the user of the lawnmower must pay for the electricity used, and the production of said electricity results in air pollution at the utility where the electricity is generated.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a solar powered lawnmower which will be used to mow the lawn without polluting the air, neither at the lawnmowing site nor at the utility where the electricity is generated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a solar powered lawnmower which will be used to mow the lawn without causing excessive noise.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a solar powered lawnmower which will not cause the user to incur any costs related to the energy needed to power the lawnmower.
These and other objects will become apparent upon examination of the Summary of the Invention and the Description of the Preferred Embodiment in view of the drawings.